Material Damping Properties
Material Damping Properties
Material Damping Properties
Abstract
A comprehensive review of vibration damping in vibration and acoustics analysis is presented. The
treatment of damping material is an important measure for vibration and acoustics control in engineering.
The simulation-based results on vibration and acoustics analysis are very sensitive to the description and
input methods of damping properties. In this paper, the consideration of vibration damping using software
ANSYS for harmonic and modal analysis is addressed. Several key points are summarized.
Introduction
When an unacceptable vibration and acoustics problem needs to be controlled, it is firstly desirable and
often necessary to understand its whole nature, such as its originating source, the nature and direction of the
vibration and acoustics at the problem location, transmission path and frequency content. Then, it must be
decided whether the problem would be best solved by passive or active control methods. The passive
control involves modification of the stiffness, mass and damping of the vibration system to make the
system less responsive to its vibratory environment. This paper is concerned only with the damping
modification in passive control methods. If the undesirable vibration and acoustics is dominated by one or
more resonance of the structure, it can be often adequately controlled by increasing the damping of the
system. Most non-resonant vibration and acoustics problems cannot be solved by the damping treatment. If
an added damping system is to be effective, the increased damping must be significantly larger than the
initial damping. The most commonly used method of increasing the damping is to include highly damped
polymeric material at strategic locations onto the structure. The structure and polymer must interact with
one another in such a way as to cause the polymer to dissipate as much energy as possible. In practice,
there are two kinds of damping treatments for vibration and acoustics control.
The first is called extensional damping treatment. This treatment is also referred to as the unconstrained- or
free-layer damping treatment. The treatment is coated on one or both sides of a structure, so that whenever
the structure is subjected to flex, the damping material will be subjected to tension-compression
deformation. The second one is named as shear type of damping treatment. For a given weight, the shear
type of damping treatment is more efficient than the extensional damping treatment. However, this
efficiency is balanced by greater complication in analysis and application. The treatment is similar to the
unconstrained-layer type, except the viscoelastic material is constrained by another layer. Therefore,
whenever the structure is subjected to flex, the extra layer will constrain the viscoelastic material and force
it to deform in shear. The maximum shear deformation in the middle layer is a function of the modulus and
the thickness of the constraining layer, the thickness and the damping material and the wavelength of
vibration in addition to the properties of the damping material.
The actual description of the damping force associated with the dissipation of energy is difficult. It may be
a function of the displacement, velocity, stress or other factors. Most of the mechanisms which dissipate
energy with a vibrating system are non-linear and conform neither to the linear viscous nor to the linear
hysteretic damping [1]. However, ideal damping models can be conceived which will often permit a
satisfactory approximation.
In this paper, the categories of common damping materials in engineering are reviewed. After that, the
model for description of structural damping is introduced. Thirdly, it is elaborated how ANSYS considers
the damping properties for engineering purpose. Several case studies are carried out to explain the
difference of various consideration methods of material damping effects. Finally, some key points are
drawn for correct application of damping effects for harmonic and modal analysis in ANAYS.
When the single spring mass system undergoes free vibration, the equation of motion becomes
mx + cx + kx = 0 (2)
Assuming a solution of the form x = e , we have the eigen or the characteristic equation of the system as
st
ms 2 + cs + k = 0 (3)
The solution of equation 3 is
−
c § ¨¨
2
§ c · k
¸¸ − t
§ c · k
− ¨¨
2
¸¸ − t ·
x=e 2m
t
¨ Ae © 2m ¹ m
+ Be © 2m ¹ m ¸ (4)
¨ ¸
© ¹
where A and B are arbitrary constants depending on how the motion is started.
It is observed that the behavior of the damped system depends on the numerical value of the radical in the
exponential of equation 4. As a reference quality, a critical damping cc is defined which reduces this radical
to zero
2
§ cc · k
¨ ¸ − =0 or c c = 2 km = 2mω n (5, 6)
© 2m ¹ m
An important parameter to describe the properties of the damping is damping ratio ζ, which is a non-
dimensional ratio as
c c
ζ = = (7)
c c 2mω n
Based on the value of damping ratio, the motion of the mass in Figure 1 can be divided into the following
three cases: (1) Oscillatory motion when ζ < 1.0 ; (2) Nonoscillatory motion when ζ > 1.0 and (3) Critical
damped motion when ζ = 1.0 . In last case, the general solution of the system is x = ( A + Bt )e −ω t .
n
Viscous damping can be used whatever the form of the excitation. The most common form of viscous
damping is the Rayleigh-type damping given by
c =α m+ β k (8)
This is a second order nonhomogeneous differential equation. The solution can be expressed as
k k µN
x(t ) = A cos t + B sin t− (10)
m m k
It can be shown in Figure 2. Equation 12 gives the energy dissipated in one vibration cycle which is the
area of the loop above
2π ω
For the hysteretic damping, similarly, there is a hysteresis loop to be formed in the stress-strain or force-
displacement curve in one loading and unloading cycle. It has been found experimentally that the energy
loss per cycle due to internal friction is independent of the frequency for most structural metals, but
approximately proportional to the square of the amplitude. In order to achieve the observed behavior from
the equation above, the equivalent damping coefficient ceq is assumed to be inversely proportional to the
frequency as
h
c eq = (13)
ω
where h is a hysteretic damping coefficient.
Substitution of equation 13 into 12 results in the energy dissipated by the hysteretic damping in a cycle of
motion.
∆W = π hX 2 (14)
§ ω ·
− ω 2 mx + k ¨¨1 − i 2 ζ eq ¸¸ x = f (t ) (16)
© ωn ¹
c eq h
where ζ eq = = .
cc 2mω n ω
mx + k (1 − iγ )x = f (t ) (17)
Complex Stiffness
The effect of polymer material on the damping of the whole structure is influenced by the material stiffness
as well as by its damping. These two properties are conveniently quantified by the complex Young’s
modulus E (1 − iη E ) or the complex shear modulus G (1 − iη G ) . η G and η E are usually assumed to be equal
for a given material.
When the material is subjected to cyclic stress and strain with amplitude σ0 and ε0, the maximum energy
stored and dissipated per cycle in a unit volume are as
Maximum energy stored per cycle = Eε 02 2 (18)
Compared to equation 17, the complex stiffness k (1 − i h k ) is similar to the complex modulus E (1 − iη ) or
G (1 − iη ) . Defining the loss factor η = h k , the complex stiffness can be expressed as k (1 − iη ) . η may
vary from for 2 × 10 −5 pure aluminum to 1.0 for hard rubber. The structural damping factor γ is equivalent
to loss factor η. Loss factor is a term used to quantify damping performance.
A physical interpretation of the loss factor can be obtained as follows. The energy dissipated per cycle for a
structural damped system is
1
∆W = π hX 2 = π ηkX 2 = 2π η × kX 2 = 2π ηU m (20)
2
where Um is the maximum strain energy stored. Therefore, we have
1 ∆W 1 energy disspated per cycle
η= = (21)
2π U m 2π maximum strain energy
From equation 21, it is found that the loss factor is a way to compare the damping of one material to
another. It is a ratio of the amount of energy dissipated by the system at a certain frequency to the amount
of the energy that remains in this system at the same frequency. The more damping a material has, the
higher the loss factor will be. The method of representing the structural damping should only be used for
frequency domain analysis where the excitation is harmonic [4].
'
σ = E ®ε +
ν
n
[(ε 0
½
− ε ) − 2 n −1 ε 0n ¾
n
] (23)
¯ ¿
& '
where σ is the stress during the loading part of the cycle and σ is that during the unloading part. ν is
Poisson’s ratio. ε0 is the initial strain. n is the nondimensional parameter in description of hysteresis loop.
An alternate form, somewhat simpler, is
( )
n
*+ ° ε2 ½°
σ = E (ε )®ε ± η (ε )ε 0 1 − 2 ¾ with E (ε ) = E 1 + α ε
β
(24)
°̄ ε0 °¿
One of the best known representations of the state equation is known as the standard linear model, and it
gives the following relationship between stress and strain:
dσ dε
σ +a = Eε + bE (25)
dt dt
This particular equation represents a more complex relationship between stress and strain than either
dε
Hooke’s law σ = Eε or the simple dashpot spring combinations, for which σ = Eε + bE . Two
dt
parameters a and b in equation 25 are the constants of stress and strain relaxation respectively. If the
applied stress and strain vary harmonically, of the type σ = σ 0 e − iωt and ε = ε o e − iωt , then the equation
gives
§ 1 − iωb · § 1 + ω 2 ab b−a ·
σ 0 = Eε 0 ¨ ¸; σ 0 = E ¨¨ − iω ¸¸ε 0 (26, 27)
© 1 − iωa ¹ © 1+ ω a 1+ ω 2 a 2
2 2
¹
From equations 26 and 27, we can see that loss factor is usually dependent on the frequency. The modulus
is also frequency dependence if the constant of stress a is not zero.
[C ] = α [M ] + β [K ] + ¦ β [K ] + β [K ] + [C ] + ¦ [C ]
N mat N ele
j j c ζ k
(28)
j =1 k =1
where
α constant mass matrix multiplier (input on ALPHAD command)
β constant stiffness matrix multiplier (input on BETAD command)
βj constant stiffness matrix multiplier (input on MP, DAMP command)-- material-dependent
damping. It is noted that different damping parameters are defined for different types of analysis
when using the material-dependent damping. For example, MP, DAMP in a spectrum analysis
specifies a material-dependent damping ratio ζ, not β.
βc variable stiffness matrix multiplier: (available for the harmonic response analysis, is used to give a
constant damping ratio, regardless of frequency)
ζ 2ζ η
βc = = = (29)
πf ω ω
ζ constant damping ratio (input on DMPRAT command). From equation 29, the damping ratio ζ
should be η 2 where η is the loss factor.
[Cζ] may be calculated from the specified ζr (damping ratio for mode shape r) and is never
explicitly computed.
{u } [C ]{u } = 4πf ζ
r
T
ζ r r r
(30)
C is diagonal. So for the rth mode, the equation of motion (equation 15) can be uncoupled. Each one is of
the form
qr + (α + βω r2 )q r + ω r2 q r = Qr (33)
Let 2ζ mr ω r = (α + βω r2 ) (34)
The values of α and β are not generally known directly, but are calculated from modal damping ratios, ζmr.
It is the ratio of actual damping to critical damping for a particular mode of vibration, r. From equation 34,
we have
α β
ζ mr = + ωr (36)
2ω r 2
In many practical structural problems, the α damping (or mass damping) which represents friction damping
may be ignored (α = 0). In such case, the β damping can be evaluated from known values of ζmr and ωr
which represents material structural damping. It is noted that only one value of β can be input in a load
step, so we should choose the most dominant frequency active in that load step to calculate β.
In case where the damping properties vary considerably in different parts of the structure, the above
techniques cannot be used directly. An example is the analysis of soil-structure interaction problems, where
there is significantly more damping in the soil than in the structure.
Material-dependent Damping βj
It specifies beta damping βj as a material property (input on MP, DAMP command). It is noticed that MP,
DAMP in a spectrum analysis [ANTYPE,SPECTR] specifies a material-dependent damping ratio ζi, not βj.
Viscous Damping
Calculate the damping ratio ζ which depends on the natural frequency of the system. Then
compute the parameter β with formula β = 2ζ ω n .
Similar to the input of the parameter β above, the damping properties of the damped structure can
be defined via assigning the related element (COMBIN14, for example) on a specific damping
value as the material properties [MP,DAMP].
It is needed to calculate the natural frequencies of the system and define the most significant mode
for the problem at hand because there are more than one natural frequency for the multiple-DOF
vibration system. Say the dominant or major natural frequency be ωd, the material-dependent
damping βi can be calculated respectively with this natural frequency. It is expected that it is hard
to specify the dominant natural frequency with increase of the number of degree-of-freedom of
vibration system. Figure 8 shows the responses of two masses when the first natural frequency
ω1=17.32(Hz) is used as dominant frequency. Figure 9 shows the response of two masses when the
second natural frequency ω2=30.00(Hz) is used as dominant frequency. It is seen that obvious
discrepancy is observed when an appropriate natural frequency is selected as the dominant
frequency as shown in Figure 9.
It is noted that only one value of β can be input in a load step, therefore, the method by Rayleigh Beta
damping can not be used directly to specify the damping properties of the vibration system with different
damping materials. Figure 10 shows the response of two masses when β=0.03333.
Hysteretic Damping
• βc via constant damping ratio ζ (input on DMPRAT command)
As mentioned above, the command DMPRAT can be used for the hysteretic damping input for
single degree of freedom of vibration system. Again from equation 29, the damping ratio ζ should
be η 2 if the loss factor is η. Figure 11 shows the response of single DOF of vibration system
with a hysteretic damper.
• βj via material dependent damping (input on MP, DAMP command)
Material-dependent damping β j can be used for specifying the hysteretic damping properties both
in single and multiple DOF of vibration systems. The β j should be calculated with equation 29 if
the loss factors ηj is known.
η j (ω )
βj = (37)
ω
where ηj(ω) is the frequency-dependent loss factor of the jth material. ω is the circular frequency.
For harmonic vibration analysis, equation 37 should be applied frequency by frequency. In other words, the
damping β j needs to be given for each analysis circular frequency, respectively.
Figure 12 shows the responses of two DOF of vibration systems (Figure 6) with three hysteretic damping
dampers.
§ α · §β ·
ζ r = ¨¨ ¸¸ + ¨ ω r ¸ + ζ + ζ mr (38)
© 2ω r ¹ © 2 ¹
where α is uniform mass damping multiplier (input on ALPHAD command); β uniform stiffness damping
multiplier (input on BETAD command); ζ is constant damping ratio (input on DMPRAT command) and
ζ mr is the modal damping ratio (input on MDAMP command).
For the vibration structure consisting of single material only, material-dependent damping, βj, provides the
same results as specified Beta (stiffness) damping, β, since β j = 2ζ j ω rj . It is seen that the frequency-
dependent damping treatment such as hysteretic damping in equation 37 is not applicable for modal
analysis. In practice, Rayleigh damping parameters of continuum damping materials can not be read from
the vendor’s damping data sheet (modulus and loss factors). Therefore, Rayleigh damping may be only
suitable for the vibration system with single degree of freedom.
Summaries
There are several methods to include the material damping in ANSYS. The following points are drawn out
for using damping in ANSYS:
• Element related damping input is only suitable for some special elements such as COMBIN7,
COMBIN 14, COMBIN37, COMBIN40 and so on. The viscous damping coefficients can input by
the real constants directly. It is suitable for single and multiple DOF vibration systems;
• Rayleigh damping (input on BETAD and ALFAD commands) is suitable for single DOF vibration
system because it depends on the dominant natural frequency and damping ratio. For multiple
DOF systems and continuum vibration system, it is difficult to identify the dominant natural
frequency and modal damping ratio. β = 2ζ r ω r if α is assumed to be zero;
• Constant damping ratio (input on DMPRAT command) is used to specify the hysteretic damping
directly for a single DOF of vibration system and/or the system consisting of only one kind of
material. The input constant damping ratio is half of the loss factor. ζ = 0.5η ;
• Material dependant damping (input on MP, DAMP command) can be used to input the viscous
damping β j = 2ζ j ω n and/or hysteretic damping β j = η i (ω ) ω . With the similar limitation of
Rayleigh damping, it can only used to represent the viscous damping of single DOF vibration
system and/or the continuum system consisting of only one material. However, it can be used to
represent hysteretic damping of multiple DOF system and other multiple-material continuum
vibration system under harmonic analysis based on each analysis frequency. Obviously, this
method is not applicable to damped modal analysis.
• For damped modal analysis, all four methods above to represent the material damping can be used
with corresponding applications. Rayleigh Beta damping is only applicable for the natural
frequency analysis of single DOF vibration systems in practical use. Constant damping ratio (input
on DMPRAT command) is applicable for modal analysis of the continuum vibration system with
only one kind of hysteretic damping material. Element related damping input methods via real
constants can be used for modal analysis of both single and multiple DOF discrete vibration
systems with viscous damping properties.
The special attention should be paid when we use ANSYS for damped vibration and acoustic analysis.
References
1) Denys J. Mead, Passive Vibration Control, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2000
2) Singiresu S. Rao, Mechanical Vibrations (3rd edition), Addison-Wesley Publishing Company,
1995
3) William T. Thomson, Vibration Theory and Applications, Prentice-Hall, Inc, Englewood Cliffs,
N.J, 1965
4) Maurice Petyt, Introduction to Finite Element Vibration Analysis, Cambridge University Press,
1990
5) Ahid D. Nashif, Davis I. G. Jones and John P. Henderson, Vibration Damping, A Wiley-
Interscience Publication, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1985
6) On-line ANSYS Theory Reference, Release 5.6.
7) Roy S., Reddy J, N., Finite-element models of Viscoelasticity and diffusion in Ashesively Bonded
Joints, International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 26(1988) 2531-2546
8) Yi S., Ahmad M. F., Hilton H. H., Finite element algorithms for dynamic simulations of
viscoelastic composite shell structures using conjugated gradient method on coarse grained and
massively parallel machines, International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering,
40(1997): 1857-1875
9) Yi S., Ling S. F., Ying M., Hilton H. H., Vinson J. R., Finite element formulation for anisotropic
coupled piezoelectro-hygro-thermo-viscoelasto-dynamic problems, International Journal for
Numerical Methods in Engineering, 45 (1999) 1531-1546
10) Chung P. W., Tamma K. K., Namburu R. R., A finite element thermo-viscoelastic creep approach
for heterogeneous structures with dissipative correctors, Finite Elements in Analysis and Design,
36 (3-4) 279-313, 2000